Which empire was/is the most powerful?

[Drakkon]

A barroom "discussion" between us smarter drunk guys brought this up....
Ohkay you had the holy roman empire...conquered much of europe over their reign...
Then you had some of the chinese emporers...a good deal of power there
Of course there was the british who started expanding as well...
Then there is the US these days repeating the actions of many of these empires....with the recent conquoring of afganistand and iraq being its latest spoils of war...
So who would you consider the most powerful? each in their own time period of course...comparing the US now to the holy roman empire doesn't make much since thince rome didnt have nukes...you wouldn't beleive how long it took convincing that its no fair if u factor nukes into the equation I say the romans....cause they really revolutionized the world...

 

[MichaelD]

You used "barroom" and "smart" in the same sentence. BZZZZZZZZ! You get a zero.

 

[guapo337]

romans. not the HRE though. the Romans and the HRE shouldnt even be considered one.

 

[tweakmm]

How are you going to talk about power and leave out nukes. Having the ability to scorch the entire surface of the earth isn't something that can be conveniently left out.

 

[MichaelD]

/gets glass of water
/notepad and pen
/sits back to watch political discussion and be a non-player so as to not get shorts eaten

 

[Kevin]

Roman Empire. It lasted very long and a lot came out of it. Many compare the US to it because of the similarities. One major one is defense. Rome sold protection as does the US with certain countries to an extent...

 

[guyver01]

The Galactic Empire (you knew it was coming.. c'mon admit it)...

They destroyed the Jedi and took over most of known space

 

[Kaervak]

Flamewar cluster fvck starting in 3............2............1

Anyway to offer my opnion, I'd have to say the Roman Empire.

 

[HappyPuppy]

All of the former "empires" held domain over the "known" world at the tiime. The United States of America can project its power over the entire planet Earth in a very short period of time, whether it be nuclear or conventional. The U.S. is the mightiest society so far. The key words are "so far".

 

[Goosemaster]

Martha Stewart



Just KMart can bring the country to its knees....






Begging for it to go away and allow reputable commerce to return

 

[Imdmn04]

the mongols, they kicked everybodys ass, almost all of europe and all of asia.

 

Are you okay, MichaelD? What's with the weird posts tonight? You know, I wouldn't mind the gf attack/whining threads even, instead of this weird posts.

To answer the original poster's question, I would have to say the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire for the reasons already mentioned by other posters. Even most official languages of nations have some traces to Latin. The Church is still powerful today or at least perceived as a significant symbol.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: luvly
Are you okay, MichaelD? What's with the weird posts tonight? You know, I wouldn't mind the gf attack/whining threads even, instead of this weird posts.

To answer the original poster's question, I would have to say the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire for the reasons already mentioned by other posters. Even most official languages of nations have some traces to Latin. The Church is still powerful today or at least perceived as a significant symbol.

What's wrong with my posts tonight? I'm just....well, posting.

I don't get it...I haven't pissed anybody off...tonight, anyway.

 

[Double Trouble]

I would leave nukes out of the equation, because just having them doesn't give you anything -- the Soviets/Russians have enough to obliterate the earth as well, but they are not a true military power right now.

I'd have to say Rome under Ceasar and other emperor was the truest dynasty -- they literally conquered, subdued and assimilated pretty much the entire world known at the time. The US might be able to project power right now in a certain spot where needed, but the US in no way shape or form could occupy, subdue and assimilate (and keep control of!) every country in the world. Not even close. Look at how much trouble we have 'holding' on little country like Iraq in line, I don't see how the US would conquer and subdue countries like India, China, Russia etc.

I guess if you looked back in time Ghengis Kahn and his Mongols would have to rank up there as well. If you look at the map at the amount of territory he conquered in his time, it was even larger (in square miles) than what the Romans held.

 

[isaacmacdonald]

another vote for the US empire.

we have teh military strength, but then also the economic force. A plurality of countries use the USD as reserve (like we used to use gold), a very large sizeable chunk of foreign debt is denominated in USD, and finally dolarization is starting to become popular.

Why is all this USD talk relevant? First because the widespread usage of the USD prevents the volatility that destorys other currencies (and economies) like the rubble or argentinian and thai currencies. Secondly, it places the US banking system in complete control over the creation of debt and interest rates that directly impact the world in a way that no other currency does. That's some serious power. See also: Wizards of Money

 

It's okay, MichaelD. You can sound drunk! I won't hurt you at all.

Tagej, how long did the Mongols' empire last? I think the amount of land conquered, how long the kingdom lasted, and how much influence it had in cultures and systems as we know them today should be factored when deciding the most powerful empire.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
the mongols, they kicked everybodys ass, almost all of europe and all of asia.

You beat me to it.

 

[BeauJangles]

If you are talking about pure military power no other empire had such an advantage as US vs the world does today.
Purely by territory, technicially the Japanese Empire of the the 1940s was the largest... albiet mostly water. The mongols had the largest land-majority empire.

Honestly, the romans really don't stack up (except in the longevity category). In comparison to the Mongols, the Roman Empire was tiny. Roman legions were never that large (about 200,000 men in the Roman Army).

TageJ - it's not like the Romans had it easy controlling provinces either, look at Syria and Palestine, and the Tuetenborg (sp?) forest. Thousands of Romans died in those locations putting down rebellions and fighting invaders.

 

[TerryMathews]

I vote for the US, although it isn't an empire in the typical sense. If we were, Japan would be a US territory.

 

[Fudssa]

Originally posted by: guyver01
The Galactic Empire (you knew it was coming.. c'mon admit it)... They destroyed the Jedi and took over most of known space

The Galactic Empire gets my vote too.

 

[SammyBoy]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
If you are talking about pure military power no other empire had such an advantage as US vs the world does today.
Purely by territory, technicially the Japanese Empire of the the 1940s was the largest... albiet mostly water. The mongols had the largest land-majority empire.

Honestly, the romans really don't stack up (except in the longevity category). In comparison to the Mongols, the Roman Empire was tiny. Roman legions were never that large (about 200,000 men in the Roman Army).

TageJ - it's not like the Romans had it easy controlling provinces either, look at Syria and Palestine, and the Tuetenborg (sp?) forest. Thousands of Romans died in those locations putting down rebellions and fighting invaders.

I have no idea what you just said...so here's a bunny with a pancake on it's head

hehe, jk, I'm gonna vote canada because without tasty maple syrup life wouldn't be worth living.

 

[Acanthus]

Walmart.

Financial superpower

If walmart were to suddenly collapse the worlds economy would be in disarray for long time.

 

[Schadenfroh]

the mongol empire was the largest in history
The roman empire was the greatest
the greek empire was the quickest
The british made the right moves imo, and if it were not for their own offspring, would still be the most powerfull today
america, same as british

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

It's called Scroll And Key. Do your homework (major, serious digging) and you won't disagree.

 

[Fudssa]

Originally posted by: SammyBoy

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber If you are talking about pure military power no other empire had such an advantage as US vs the world does today. Purely by territory, technicially the Japanese Empire of the the 1940s was the largest... albiet mostly water. The mongols had the largest land-majority empire. Honestly, the romans really don't stack up (except in the longevity category). In comparison to the Mongols, the Roman Empire was tiny. Roman legions were never that large (about 200,000 men in the Roman Army). TageJ - it's not like the Romans had it easy controlling provinces either, look at Syria and Palestine, and the Tuetenborg (sp?) forest. Thousands of Romans died in those locations putting down rebellions and fighting invaders.

I have no idea what you just said...so here's a bunny with a pancake on it's head hehe, jk, I'm gonna vote canada because without tasty maple syrup life wouldn't be worth living.

Don't forget the hippo races